Aibo

“Shoot the dog: Bye-bye Aibo”

1. Aibo’s target and potential buyers are the people who don’t have time to have or to take care of a real dog, people that are lonely and need a companion, or even children whose parents won’t let them have a real dog because they’re too messy. 2. It is not reasonable to think that real dogs transactions will plunge due to the emergence of robots because people that really love to have dogs as pets, would never use a robot to replace the real dog. The robot may be less messy and kind of act like a real dog but it is not the same thing. You can’t play with a robot the same way you play with a dog. 3. Personal factors may influence the acquisition on an Aibo because this robot is easier to keep and take care than a real dog, because you don´t need to take him outside and you know that it won´t damage your furniture and your house. On the other hand, you won’t get so attached to him as you would if it was a real dog, plus the fact that you already know that it won’t die. 4. A robot pet like Aibo costs twice the price of a little puppy which means that is not any person that can afford it and a robot pet is also a symbol of modernity and technology, which also means that its buying will depend on the person’s status and cultural beliefs. 5. The consumers’ reference group will totally affect their interest in robot pets. If the reference group supports and likes and is interested in robots, most likely the people who look up to them will be interested in acquiring a robot and have interest on it. The same effect happens if the interest group does not have interest in robots. 6. In purchasing a robot pet an individual is satisfying the need of having a pet, is finding some companion and something new to play with. 7. Selling Aibos only over the internet makes it more exclusive for the consumer, since you won’t find it in any other store. There’s one disadvantage that might make it harder to decide either to